Jimmy Kimmel has been a hot topic over the last week. His show, “Jimmy Kimmel Live!,” faced preemption over his comments on the killing of Charlie Kirk. Now, he’s back on the air, and the ratings for his first episode have blown past the show’s previous viewership.
According to Deadline, Kimmel’s first episode back on the air drew 6.26 million live-plus-same-day viewers. He previously averaged about 1.77 million viewers. This number represents practically four times more viewers than “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” typically draws.
Of course, the ratings don’t include streaming numbers from Hulu. However, it’s assumed that his viewership on that platform is also higher than usual. It’s worth noting that this is despite his show not being available in 23% of US markets.
“Jimmy Kimmel Live!” airs on ABC at 11:35 pm ET. It streams on Hulu and Disney+ the following day.
Kimmel Has Been Trending on Social Media
Naturally, a vast discourse ensued after Disney announced on September 17th that it was suspending Kimmel indefinitely. Many celebrities supported the late-night television host, and some fans elected to cancel their Hulu and Disney+ subscriptions.
As a result, his return to television was met with great fanfare. Business Insider reported before the official ratings were released that his monologue had broken a YouTube record for the show. By noon on September 24, the upload had amassed 13 million viewers. Previously, the highest viewed video had 14 million viewers to date.
Currently, the 28-minute video, called “Jimmy Kimmel Is Back,” has a staggering 17 million views. It also has 1.1 million likes on the platform.
He stated in his opening monologue, “Maybe most of all, I want to thank the people who don’t support my show and what I believe, but support my right to share those beliefs anyway.” Of course, he also referenced the tragic killing of Kirk.
Kimmel said, “It was never my intention to make light of the murder of a young man. Nor was it my intention to blame any specific group for the actions of what was obviously a deeply disturbed individual.”
Elsewhere in the speech, he highlighted Erika Kirk’s words about forgiveness at her late husband’s memorial service.
His Show Isn’t in all Markets
As mentioned, “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” isn’t airing in about 23 percent of US households. This is the case as Sinclair, which owns several local ABC stations nationwide, has decided to continue preempting the show.
The company said on X, “Beginning Tuesday night, Sinclair will be preempting Jimmy Kimmel Live! across our ABC affiliate stations and replacing it with news programming. Discussions with ABC are ongoing as we evaluate the show’s potential return.”
The company owns about 30 local ABC stations. It’s unclear where the involved parties have arrived in their talks to restore his show to Sinclair stations.
